Cang-isok House in Enrique Villanueva, Siquijor

The oldest known surviving house in Siquijor is the Cang-isok House in baraangay Libo, Enrique Villanueva or Talingting town. It is also called the Tejano House. Residents also tell of goosebump-generating stories about the house.

History of the House

The Cang-isok House is said to be built by a Spanish man by the name of Mariano Tejano in the mid-1800's. This explains why it is also called the Tejano House. It is known as Cang-isok because it is beside the Cang-isok village. But aside from these scant details about it's history, little is known about what happened through time at the Cang-isok House.

Design of the House

The Cang-isok House is built to stand on stilts and uses local hardwoods such as tugas and molave. The stilts are probably to keep wild animals away from the house as most early Philippine houses are. Or it could be because of the changing tides in the area. Cang-isok House is built not very far away from the shoreline. The roof of the house is made of nipa. I did see some galvanized iron sheets in some parts indicating that there had been some recent renovations in recent years.

Current Status

The current state of the Cang-isok House is of a neglected piece of property. The local government wishes that the national authorities in history and culture can do something to preserve the 200-year old attraction which has seen utter reject from its private owners. Tourists in Siquijor often visit this place but are disappointed with the lack of effort in preserving this important piece of heritage.

The house also seemed to have already been abandoned. While we did see some small bancas under the house, no one seems to be living in the house. It was closed when we got there midday, and by the looks of it, no one maintains the place.

Location of Cang-isok House

The Cang-isok House is located a few meters away from the Siquijor Circumferential Road at barangay Libo in the town of Enrique Villanueva or Talingting. One has to negotiate a few steps to go down to the Cang-isok House which is a few meters below the level of the highway.